Edgar Allan Poe, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque

Slobodan Sucur (University of Alberta)

Ed. by Stephen E. Meats, Pittsburg State University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.2: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth Century, 1783-1900.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1840

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Gothic & Ghosts
Story Collection

Resources

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Although dated to 1840, Poe’s famous short story collection

Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque

was first published in November of 1839, and in two volumes. The volumes are dedicated to Colonel William Drayton of Philadelphia who was Poe’s commanding officer at Fort Moultrie. Poe scholar T.O. Mabbott believes that Drayton possibly “had helped Poe financially” with the tale collection (

Poe

2:471). The collection is preceded by Poe’s well-known “Preface” in which he urges, in an attempt to counter his critics, that “…terror is not of Germany, but of the soul…” (

Poe

2:473). Poe presents that while “…secondary names of German literature…” such as E.T.A. Hoffmann have been identified with creative “pseudo-horror” and “folly”, he has on the other hand…

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3781 words

Citation: Sucur, Slobodan. "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 June 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1723, accessed 23 April 2024.]

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